Since it’s release on September 13th 2011, the response for my new project “Fela Soul” has been nothing short of amazing. With “Fela Soul,” I hoped to showcase my production, while increasing people’s knowledge of two very important artistic forces, and your support and sharing has helped me to achieve that goal. With combined listen/downloads of over 300,000 and growing, your support proves that there will always be a place for quality music. I am eternally grateful for your interest and continued support, and I hope you enjoyed listening to the project as much as I enjoyed making it.
– NPR Music: Who Needs A Record Label? 5 Best Bandcamp Albums of 2011
“Fela Soul is the sort of mash-up album that never gets tired. The concept is fresh and simple: Take the music of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and marry it with the raps of De La Soul. Fela Soul is the work of producer Amerigo Gazaway, who makes his ingredients sound as if they were born to be together. (There’s also an instrumental version of the album that you can also download for free.)”
– Soul Train: Best Independent Soul Music of 2011
“With a surfeit of mash-up concept albums clogging the Internet, Gregg Gillis success stories are sometimes hard to come by. However, producer Amerigo Gazaway is not a turntablist bounded by mere convention. Originally released for free download on Bandcamp, Gazaway’s Fela Soul is a boisterous production retrofitted with samples from cult hip-hop favorites De La Soul and Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti. But what’s most remarkable is that the wide-ranging stylistic format never feels overcooked. Fittingly enough, the 9-track album opens with De La Soul’s “Stakes is High”, a 1996 kiss-off to hip-hop commercialism.”
– Okayafrica: 11 Top LPs of 2011
“Amerigo Gazaway put together two towering greats in this 8-track, 33 minute, blend of afrobeat rhythms and hip-hop gems. The Nashville-based producer handpicked dozens of samples from Fela Kuti‘s illustrious catalog and combined them with 8 acapellas that span over a decade of De La Soul classics. Watch a found-footage preview clip for Fela Soul above, stream and download the album in its entirety below. Redman, MF Doom,and Gorillaz also made the cut. Pretty dope hearing the L.I. trio’s raps over Fela’s sax and Tony Allen beats.”
– Jenesis Magazine: Top Mixtapes/EPs of 2011
– Amerigo Gazaway combines afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti, with the legendary De La Soul for is project, Fela Soul. He describes it as an ” 8-track, 33 minute journey into the world of afrobeat rhythms, funky horn riffs,and classic hip-hop gems. Amerigo seamlessly intertwines the two into something completely new and original.”
